Children looked after by local authorities: April 2024 to March 2025
Information on children on care orders and in placements, adoptions from care and numbers of children and young persons leaving care for April 2024 to March 2025.
In this page
Introduction
This annual statistical release presents information on characteristics and attributes of children looked after by local authorities.
Section 74 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act (UK legislation) states that a child (a person aged under 18) who is looked after by a local authority is a child who is in its care; or provided with accommodation, for a continuous period of more than 24 hours, by the authority in the exercise of any functions which are social services functions, apart from functions under Section 15, Part 4, or Sections 109, 114 or 115.
Data are taken from the annual Children looked after census which is collected from local authorities. New data are based on the year 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, displayed as 2024 to 2025, or the position on 31 March 2025. Data revisions since previously published are noted throughout this release.
Detail provided in previous releases on children age 16 and over ceasing to be looked after will be provided in a subsequent release, however, the data are available on StatsWales.
Main points
On 31 March 2025
- 7,072 children were looked after, a decrease of 1% compared with the previous year, and the second annual decrease since 31 March 2022.
- This is equivalent to around 114 children looked after per 10,000 children aged under 18 years, the lowest rate since 2019.
- 79% of children looked after’s legal status was under a care order.
- 68% of children looked after were placed in foster care placements. Of those in foster care, 34% of children were placed with relatives or friends.
- 65% of children looked after were placed within their home local authority.
- A higher proportion of children looked after were in older age groups or from African/Caribbean/any other Black background, Mixed or Other ethnic groups compared with the general child population. A higher proportion of children looked after were male (55%) than female (45%).
- 5% of children looked after were an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child, the highest recorded.
During 2024 to 2025
- 1,840 children started to be looked after, a decrease of 6% compared with the previous year, and the lowest annual number since 2021 to 2022. Over half (56%) received care and support initially because of abuse or neglect.
- Just under 2,000 children ceased to be looked after, a small decrease compared to the previous year. Around half (49%) returned home to live with parents, relatives or other persons with parental responsibility.
- 212 children were adopted from care, the joint second lowest annual number since data began being collected in 2002 to 2003.
Children looked after on 31 March
Figure 1: children looked after on 31 March, 2016 to 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of figure 1: a line chart showing that the trend in number of children looked after had been increasing though has levelled off in more recent years since 2020.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Children looked after on 31 March by gender and age group on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks.
[Note 2] There have been minor data revisions for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 since previously published.
| Year | 2021 | 2022 [r] | 2023 [r] | 2024 [r] | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children looked after | 7,241 | 7,051 | 7,185 | 7,177 | 7,072 |
| Annual change | -190 | 134 | -8 | -105 | |
| Annual percentage change | -3% | 2% | <0.5% | -1% | |
| Rate per 10,000 children | 117 | 114 | 116 | 115 | 114 |
Description of figure 2: a table showing number and rates of children looked after.
Source: Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Children looked after on 31 March per 10,000 children under age 18 on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks.
Following an upward trend in recent years, the number of children looked after by local authorities was 7,072 on 31 March 2025, down 1% (105 children) on last year, and down from a peak of 7,241 in 2021.
This is a rate of 114 per 10,000 children aged under 18, down from 115 (r) last year and the lowest rate since 2019 (110 (r)).
Characteristics of children looked after on 31 March
Gender
55% of children looked after were male and 45% were female on 31 March 2025. These proportions have been stable in the last decade. Children with gender recorded as ‘other’ accounted for fewer than 1% of children.
Age
On 31 March 2025, 4% of children looked after were aged under 1 years old, 14% were aged 1 to 4 years old, 22% were aged 5 to 9 years old, 39% were aged 10 to 15 and 21% were 16 years and over.
Children looked after are largely from an older demographic and the proportion of children looked after aged 10 and over has increased in recent years. Compared to the general child population, a higher proportion of children looked after are in the older age groups according to the 2024 population estimates (StatsWales).
Ethnicity
The proportion of children looked after who were White has decreased from 95% in 2002 when data began being collected to 87% on 31 March 2025, while the proportions of children looked after from ethnic groups other than White have increased over this time. Proportions have changed more sharply since 2021, however, proportions for 2025 were the same as for 2024.
A lower proportion of children looked after were from White or Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Chinese or any other Asian background compared with the general population aged under 18 years old according to the Census 2021 (Office for National Statistics (ONS)). A higher proportion of children looked after were from an African/Caribbean/any other Black background, Mixed or an Other ethnic group compared to the general child population.
Disability
8% of children looked after on 31 March 2025 had a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This proportion has increased slightly in recent years.
This is slightly higher than the proportion of the general population aged under 18 years old who stated they had a long-term health problem or disability that limits their day-to-day activities (7%) according to the Census 2021 (ONS).
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
5% of children looked after on 31 March 2025 were unaccompanied asylum- seeking children. An unaccompanied asylum-seeking child is an individual, who is under 18, who has applied for asylum in their own right, is separated from both parents and is not being cared for by any other responsible adult. This proportion has increased in recent years from about 1% in 2017 to 2021, and is the highest number and proportion recorded.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have different characteristics to the children looked after population as a whole. 94% of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children on 31 March 2025 were aged 16 or older and 96% were male. 40% were from ‘Other ethnic groups’ (including Arab), 25% were of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Chinese or any other Asian background and 24% were of African/Caribbean/any other Black background.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children looked after on 31 March on StatsWales
Legal status of children looked after
The legal status indicates the underlying legal reason describing why a child is being looked after.
Figure 3: children looked after on 31 March by legal status, 2016 to 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of figure 3: a line chart showing that though most children are looked after under care orders, the number and proportion has decreased in recent years.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Children looked after on 31 March by legal status on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks.
[Note 2] There have been minor data revisions for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 since previously published.
[Note 3] Includes wardship granted in High Court and child in local authority accommodation; under police protection and in local authority accommodation; emergency protection order; and remanded to local authority accommodation or youth detention accommodation.
On 31 March 2025, most children were looked after under a care order (79%), a decrease from a high of 86% in 2021. 88% of the children looked after under care orders were looked after under full care orders compared with 12% looked after under interim care orders.
The number and proportion of children looked after under voluntary accommodation in a single period of accommodation (under Section 76 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014) had been decreasing in recent years. However, since falling to a low of 7% in 2021 the number has increased each year to more than double this low with 15% of children looked after under voluntary accommodation on 31 March 2025, the highest proportion since 2016.
The proportion of children looked after under a placement order (a court order which allows a local authority to place a child for adoption) has been at 6% since 2022, down from a high of 14% in 2014.
Placement of children looked after
The placement indicates where children looked after are living while in the local authority’s care.
Figure 4: top five placements for children looked after on 31 March, 2016 to 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2] [Note 3]
Description of figure 4: a line chart showing that most children are looked after in foster care placements and following an upward trend this has decreased gradually in recent years.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Children looked after on 31 March by placement type on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks.
[Note 2] There have been minor data revisions for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 since previously published.
[Note 3] Other placement types, not shown in the chart, include NHS/Health Trust or other establishment providing medical or nursing care; residential family centre or mother and baby unit; youth offender institution or prison; youth treatment centre; residential school; residential employment and other placement not listed. 129 children were in other placements on 31 March 2025.
On 31 March 2025, over two-thirds of children looked after (68% or 4,793 children) were placed in foster placements, the same proportion as the previous year but a decrease in number. The proportion of children looked after in foster placements has decreased steadily from a high of 79% in 2011. Just over a third (34%) of children in foster placements were with a relative or friend on 31 March 2025. Following a steady increase, this proportion has been the same since 2023.
970 children looked after were in secure units, children’s homes or hostels on 31 March 2025, an increase of 10% (88 children) compared with the previous year. Having been quite steady, this proportion has increased in recent years to a high of 14%.
872 (12%) children looked after were placed with their own parents or others with parental responsibility on 31 March 2025. These children were nearly all subject to care orders. Children looked after placed with their own parents decreased by 10% (97 children) compared with the previous year. The proportion of children in such placements has decreased each year, from a high of 17% in 2020 and 2021.
Locality of placement
Where information was provided, nearly two-thirds (65%) of children who were looked after on 31 March 2025 were in placements inside the local authority where they were living when they first became looked after. 28% of children were in placements outside their home local authority but within Wales and a further 7% were placed outside Wales. The proportion of children looked after placed within their home local authority has decreased slightly in recent years.
Stability of placements
There were 601 (8%) children looked after on 31 March 2025 who had three or more placements during the year. Whilst the number of children who had three or more placements has fluctuated, the proportion of children with three or more placements has remained at about 9% in recent years, except for 2021 when it was 7% (there were fewer placement moves in 2020 to 2021 during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic).
Children starting to be looked after
Children looked after for the first time, and children who had previously left care and started being looked after again during the reporting year are counted in this section. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year, only the first period is counted. Children who transferred from another local authority are excluded.
Figure 5: children starting to be looked after during the year, 2015 to 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of figure 5: a line chart showing that the number of children starting to be looked after is on a generally downward trend, and following increases in 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024, the number decreased during 2024 to 2025.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Children starting to be looked after during year by need for care on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year only the first period is counted.
[Note 2] There have been minor data revisions for the years 2017 to 2018, 2019 to 2020, 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 since previously published.
1,840 children started to be looked after between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, a decrease of 113 (6%) children from the previous year. The number of children starting to be looked after has generally decreased from a high of 2,228 in 2016 to 2017.
Children starting to be looked after during the year were generally younger than those in care on 31 March 2025 and the general child population. Most noticeable was the difference in proportion of children aged under 1, which was 21% for those starting to be looked after compared to 4% of both children looked after on 31 March 2025 and the general child population according to the 2024 population estimates (StatsWales). The proportion of children starting to be looked after aged 10 and over was much lower than that for children looked after on 31 March 2025 (43% compared to 60%).
Of the children who started to be looked after during 2024 to 2025, 63% were initially looked after under voluntary accommodation in a single instance of accommodation (under Section 76 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014) and 28% under a care order, compared with 15% and 79% of children looked after under these legal statuses respectively on 31 March 2025.
The majority were initially placed in foster care placements (61%), a little lower than the proportion in foster placements on 31 March 2025 (68%). 14% of children who started to be looked after were placed in secure units, children's homes or hostels, the same proportion as on 31 March 2025.
Figure 6: children starting to be looked after during the year by need for care and support, 2015 to 2025 [Note 1] [Note 2]
Description of figure 6: a line chart showing that most children who start to be looked after receive care and support initially because of abuse or neglect.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year only the first period is counted.
[Note 2] There have been minor data revisions for the years 2017 to 2018, 2019 to 2020, 2021 to 2022, 2022 to 2023 and 2023 to 2024 since previously published.
[Note 3] Includes child's disability or illness, socially unacceptable behaviour and adoption disruption.
For children who started to be looked after during 2024 to 2025, the most common reason why the child became looked after was because of abuse or neglect (56%). Both the number and proportion have decreased from a high of 66% (or 1,406 children) in 2018 to 2019 but have been stable in more recent years. The proportion starting to be looked after due to family in acute stress or family dysfunction has increased over this time, from 23% to 29% in 2024 to 2025 (peaking at 31% in 2023 to 2024).
The proportion of children starting to be looked after due to parental illness, disability or absence was 9% and similar to the previous two years, but an increase in number and proportion compared to prior years. The number and proportion of children who started to be looked after for other reasons has remained broadly similar at about 5%.
Children ceasing to be looked after
Children who cease to be looked after during the reporting year are counted in this section. Some children who leave care may come back into care during the year. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year, only the last period of ceasing care is counted.
Figure 7: children ceasing to be looked after during the year, 2015 to 2025 [Note 1]
Description of figure 7: a line chart showing that the number of children who ceased to be looked after had been on a downward trend but has increased generally since 2019-20.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Episodes finishing for children looked after during year by reason for finishing on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks, children who died or where care was taken over by another local authority in the UK. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year, only the last period of ceasing care is counted. There have been minor data revisions since previously published.
1,953 children left care between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, a slight decrease compared to 1,979 (r) children in the previous year (which was the highest annual total since 2015 to 2016). This number has generally increased from a low of 1,673 children in 2019 to 2020.
The age distribution of children ceasing to be looked after during the year was different to that for children in care on 31 March 2025, with a higher proportion of children ceasing who were either very young children (aged 4 and under) or older children (aged 16 and over).
For those children who ceased to be looked after during 2024 to 2025, just over a third (35%) had been looked after in the same type of placement under the same legal status for less than a year. This proportion has decreased from a high of 47% for those who ceased to be looked after during 2016 to 2017. The proportion of children ceasing to be looked after having been in the same type of placement under the same legal status for 10 years and over has increased over this time from 8% to 12% during 2024 to 2025.
Figure 8: children ceasing to be looked after during the year by reason, 2015 to 2025 [Note 1]
Description of figure 8: a line chart showing that the main reason for children leaving care is returning home to live with parents, relatives or others with parental responsibility. Reasons for leaving care have remained largely stable over time.
Source: SSDA903 return and Children looked after census, Welsh Government
Episodes finishing for children looked after during year by reason for finishing on StatsWales
[Note 1] Excludes children looked after exclusively under a series of short breaks, children who died or where care was taken over by another local authority in the UK. Where a child had multiple periods of care during the year only the last period of ceasing care is counted. There have been minor data revisions since previously published.
[Note 2] Returned home to live with parents, relatives or other person with parental responsibility. Includes special guardianship orders made to former foster carers or carers other than former foster carers.
[Note 3] Includes transferred to care of adult social services, sentenced to custody and other reason not listed.
[Note 4] A young person turning 18 years old may continue living with their former foster parent(s) in a ‘When I am Ready’ arrangement. Such arrangements have been in place since April 2016.
During 2024 to 2025, nearly half (or 948) of children ceasing to be looked after returned home to live with parents, relatives or other person with parental responsibility. Special guardianship orders were made for 303 (32%) of these children. The proportion of children ceasing to be looked after and returning home to live with parents, relatives or other persons with parental responsibility has been about 49% since 2021 to 2022, having been around 47% from 2017 to 2018 to 2020 to 2021 and higher prior to that.
327 (17%) children ceasing to be looked after were living independently. This proportion has increased steadily from a low of 8% in 2021 to 2022 to a high of 17% in 2024 to 2025.
212 (11%) children were adopted from care during the year, a decrease of 45 (18%) children compared with the previous year. This is the joint second lowest annual number of adoptions since data began being collected in 2002 to 2003. 11% of children were adopted by their former foster carer during 2024 to 2025, similar to the figure of around 10% for the previous few years (except for 2023 to 2024 where it was higher). The majority (78.7%) of children adopted during the year were in the 1 to 4 years age group.
The number of children adopted has decreased from a high of 385 children adopted during 2014 to 2015, and the proportion of children ceasing to be looked after having been adopted has decreased each year since 2019 to 2020 when it was about 18%.
178 (9%) children ceased to be looked after having turned 18 years old under ‘When I am Ready' arrangements. The proportion entering ‘When I Am Ready’ arrangements has remained at about 10% since 2020 to 2021.
Quality and methodology information
From 2016 to 2017, individual-level data in relation to children looked after have been collected through the children looked after census. Data on children looked after was previously collected through the SSDA903 and associated returns.
The collection adheres closely to the definition of children looked after provided in law as detailed in the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 (UK legislation). In a small number of instances where there is scope for confusion, guidance on how to interpret the term 'looked after' for statistical purposes is given. This is to achieve consistency in data so that there is comparability between local authorities' figures. The data collection guidance document also provides detailed explanations of the legal, placement and other response categories captured within the data collection.
Adoption
An adoption refers to when a child ceases to be looked after on the granting of an adoption order. Further information on adoptions of children looked after, including the profile of adopters, can be found on StatsWales.
Age
11 young people aged 18 or over were looked after on 31 March 2025.
Disability
The Welsh Government is committed to the social definition of disability, in which it is recognised that people with impairments are disabled by barriers that commonly exist in society. However, data have been collected based on the Equality Act 2010 which uses the medical model of disability.
Population estimates
The rate of children looked after per 10,000 population aged under 18 has been calculated based on the 2024 mid-year estimates provided by the ONS.
Revisions
Minor revisions can be made as part of processing the latest year’s data. Revisions made to previous years’ data have been agreed by local authorities and are highlighted in notes. This mostly affects more recent years. However, as these numbers are small, this may not affect data published on StatsWales due to rounding and suppression being applied.
Statistical designation
These statistics are published as official statistics.
Percentages in this release have been calculated based on those children where known information was provided and are rounded to the nearest per cent. Where information is not available, this is clearly indicated on StatsWales.
Extensive quality assurance was undertaken with local authorities.
Detailed information on quality can be found in the Children looked after quality report.
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Our statistical practice is regulated by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). OSR sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to.
All of our statistics are produced and published in accordance with a number of statements and protocols to enhance trustworthiness, quality and value. These are set out in the Welsh Government’s Statement of Compliance.
These official statistics demonstrate the standards expected around trustworthiness, quality and public value in the following ways.
Trustworthiness
Data are returned annually from all 22 local authorities on Excel spreadsheets via Objective Connect, a web-based tool to securely share and receive files. Data collection is based on detailed guidance.
The published figures are compiled by professional analysts using the latest available data and applying methods using their professional judgement and analytical skillset.
These statistics are pre-announced on the Statistics and Research area of the Welsh Government website. Access to the data during processing is restricted to those involved in the production of the statistics, quality assurance and for operational purposes. Pre-release access is restricted to eligible recipients in line with the Code of Practice (UK Statistics Authority).
Quality
Our statistics are produced to high professional standards and are produced free from any political interference.
Validation checks are performed by Welsh Government statisticians and queries referred to local authorities where necessary.
The statistical release is approved by senior statisticians before publication. Data are published in line with statement on confidentiality and data access each year.
Value
The purpose of the statistical release is to inform users about the number and characteristics of children looked after by local authorities in Wales. This information is published alongside other data on Children receiving care and support and Social Services activity to give a more complete picture of children receiving care and support and the activity of Children’s Social Services.
There is a sixteen-month lag between the reference period of the latest statistics and publication. The statistics are published annually with Wales level analysis and commentary, in addition to open data format tables with local authority level analysis which are published on StatsWales.
You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.
Well-being of Future Generations Act (WFG)
The Well-being of Future Generations Act 2015 is about improving the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales. The Act puts in place seven wellbeing goals for Wales. These are for a more equal, prosperous, resilient, healthier and globally responsible Wales, with cohesive communities and a vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language. Under section (10)(1) of the Act, the Welsh Ministers must (a) publish indicators (“national indicators”) that must be applied for the purpose of measuring progress towards the achievement of the wellbeing goals, and (b) lay a copy of the national indicators before Senedd Cymru. Under section 10(8) of the Well-being of Future Generations Act, where the Welsh Ministers revise the national indicators, they must as soon as reasonably practicable (a) publish the indicators as revised and (b) lay a copy of them before the Senedd. These national indicators were laid before the Senedd in 2021. The indicators laid on 14 December 2021 replace the set laid on 16 March 2016.
Information on the indicators, along with narratives for each of the wellbeing goals and associated technical information is available in the Well-being of Wales report.
Further information on the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015.
The statistics included in this release could also provide supporting narrative to the national indicators and be used by public services boards in relation to their local wellbeing assessments and local wellbeing plans.
